Photographer’s How-To: Capture Your Active Toddler With Ease + Giveaway

This post on toddler photography tips is brought to you by your fellow photo lovers at Shutterfly. They encourage you to capture your memories and share your amazing pictures the way you want with their New Custom Path photo books.

Toddlers are really fast movers and have endless amounts of energy which makes snapping that perfectly posed photo near impossible.  My toddler son is notorious for giving me either a silly face, tongue out or forced oversized grin. Thank heavens for the digital camera right? I snap away without commitment and I know I’ll get a few shots with a natural smile and adorable face. When it comes to capturing your toddler in action, New York based photographer and mom of three Johanna Lindsay has it down pat. You are likely to find her out and about in downtown Manhattan with camera in tow, ready to capture those priceless toddler moments. Johanna has been kind enough to share some of her top tips for capturing the energy, joy and excitement of the toddler.

Photographer Tips on Capturing Your Toddler In Action

1. Lighting is key!– The best lighting is natural sunlight. I love it. Soft and lovely. If it’s too bright, you will get an end result of shadows and a toddler with squinty eyes. Shoot in open shade and avoid direct sun. If you take photographs inside, try to do it near a large window that doesn’t have direct light and turn the flash off. If you do use a flash make sure it’s a good one, so the pictures aren’t dark. Also, set your camera to the red eye reduction mode – you can always remove the red eye later with photo editing.

2. Get down on your knees. You need to get down to their level. You don’t want to have all your toddler pictures of him/her looking up -although sometimes that effect is quite good. My favorite lens at the moment is a 50mm. It allows you to get up close and personal. The results are incredible.

3. Shoot lots. – Having your toddler sit still and pose for the camera is no easy feat. Toddlers are on the move and move fast. Take a ton of pictures, you may only get one or two amazing shots. Don’t worry about being snap happy, if you have a digital camera you can review your shots and press the delete button. Presto, they’re gone.

4. Background– Avoid shooting backgrounds that are distracting, you want to focus on capturing your toddler. Carry your camera at all times I always carry my camera in my bag. You just never know. Those spontaneous shots are often the best in the bunch.

5. Have fun and go with the flow – Do whatever it takes to make your child smile (use props/toys/food) and put that twinkle in their eye – you may look ridiculous in the process of doing so, but you may end up with a fantastic shot. Not all pictures have to have your toddler smiling. Remember great photographs come from real moments and those are the keepers.

6. Bribery – When all else fails……

Thank you Johanna for the great tips! Check out more of her work on her blog, From The West Village and use your favorite summer photos in a new Custom Path Photo Book today!

GIVEAWAY ALERT! The first 5 readers to comment below on how you plan to capture your toddler in photos (using some of Johanna’s tips!) will win a free 20-page 8×8 photo book with hard cover. Taxes, shipping and handling charge will apply. Offer does not include premium licensed photo books, leather, or padded covers. Good Luck!

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